Efficient clothing article organizer

ABSTRACT

In one embodiment of the present invention, a picture retaining apparatus is mounted upon an exposed, visible surface of a first clothing article container (e.g., a stylized shoebox), where the picture retaining apparatus is designed to affix a picture of the clothing article onto the exterior of the first clothing article container, thereby identifying its contents without having to open the container. Some embodiments further include one or more clothing article containers, where the additional containers are substantially same as the first container except their height, width, or length is a multiple of the corresponding height, width, or length of the first container, thereby enabling efficient stacking of the containers into a limited space.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to clothing article organizers. More particularly, the invention relates to clothing article organizers that are aesthetically pleasing and use limited space efficiently.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Many fashion conscious consumers have more articles of clothing than they can keep track of. For example, some have so many pairs of shoes that it is often impractical to stack the shoeboxes in a common residential closet and impossible to see which shoes are in what shoeboxes. A similar problem exists for clothing articles such as hats, gloves, scarves, and sweaters. Clothing boxes are commonly available and often are sold with the article of clothing. However, these boxes are typically from different manufacturers and are of different colors and sizes and generally do not aesthetically coordinate well with the closet space they are stored in.

Beyond appearance, the fact that closet space in modern homes and apartments is often at a premium for most people, the various disproportionate shapes and sizes of these boxes typically makes them impractical to efficiently stack, which creates gaps between the boxes and does not generally allow the consumer to place the boxes in the order of their choosing.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for improved techniques for organizing clothing articles that are stored in boxes. It would be desirable if the improved techniques made it easier to identify what is being stored in the box, and efficiently store the boxes in a limited space in any order desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary clothing article box in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of an exemplary sizing and placement scheme of clothing article boxes made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

To achieve the forgoing and other objects and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, a variety of efficient clothing article organization techniques are described.

A clothing article organizer is provided, which includes means for containing an article of clothing, means for visibly identifying the article from outside the box, and means for efficiently stacking the clothing article containers. In one embodiment of the present invention, a picture retaining apparatus is mounted upon an exposed, visible surface of a first clothing article container (e.g., a stylized shoebox), where the picture retaining apparatus is designed to affix a picture of the clothing article onto the exterior of the first clothing article container.

Some embodiments further include one or more clothing article containers, where the additional containers are substantially same as the first container except their height, width, or length is a multiple of the corresponding height, width, or length of the first container.

Other features, advantages, and object of the present invention will become more apparent and be more readily understood from the following detailed description, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein.

Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to the Figures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limited embodiments and that the present invention may be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but rather as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to employ the present invention in virtually any appropriately detailed system, structure or manner.

The present invention is directed towards more efficiently and aesthetically storing clothing article in limited closet space. FIG. 1 illustrates a front perspective view of an exemplary clothing article box in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the Figure is shown a clothing article box 100 and lid 110, which may be manufactured with any suitable material, surface ornamentation, color, and texture that are aesthetically appealing and of adequately robust construction. In normal usage, the clothing article would be placed inside of clothing article box 100 and lid 110 would be closed thereupon with a relatively tight fit. To overcome the problem of the consumer keeping track of what is inside of closed clothing article box 100, the present invention places a picture receiving means 120 on an exposed surface thereof. In a typical application, the consumer would take a picture (e.g., by a digital or film camera) of the article of clothing to be stored therein, and place the developed or printed into or onto picture receiving means 120. Picture receiving means 120 is configured according to any known techniques to fixedly or removable place a picture upon a box such that the picture's image is visible. By way of example, and not limitation, picture receiving means 120 may be implemented as a plastic sleeve or metal flame affixed onto clothing article box 100, whereby the picture would be slid therein and visibly display the intended or actual contents of clothing article box 100. The embodiment shown has instructive indicia located within the area covered by picture receiving means 120. The instructive indicia might instruct the user, for example, that a picture can be inserted into picture receiving means 120. Alternative embodiments may not include such instructive indicia.

Picture receiving means 120 may be placed in any suitable location on clothing article box 100 depending the needs of the particular application and how the box will be placed when stored. In some embodiments, a multiplicity of sides clothing article box 100 may have picture receiving means 120 thereon. In yet other embodiments, picture receiving means 120 may instead be used to place written (e.g., using index cards), instead of graphic, information about the stored contents.

Another aspect of the present invention is a preferred scaling of the spatial dimensions of clothing article box 100. FIG. 2 illustrates a front view of an exemplary sizing and placement scheme of clothing article boxes made in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. In the Figure clothing article box made according to the present invention are shown in exemplary size ratios and stacking relationships in a typical closet with shelves 210. In a preferred embodiment, clothing article box 100 belongs to a family of similarly styled embodiments that have a mutually stackable construction and are is such that its height and width is some multiple of a baseline height and width for the family. For example, if clothing article box 100 was the smallest base line box in the family, and had a width of 8 inches, a height of 6 inches, and a depth of 13 inches, then a larger size box 220 in the family might keep the same depth, but be otherwise be some multiple of the base line height and width; by way of example, and not limitation, having a width of 16 inches, a height of 12 inches, and a depth of 13 inches. Similarly, another box 230 in the family, might keep the height and depth the same, but have a width that is some multiple of the baseline width of the family; e.g., a width of 16 inches, a height of 12 inches, and a depth of 13 inches. Any suitable baseline dimensions and any multiple thereof may be used to achieve the proper proportions that enable efficient stacking according to the principles of present invention. As can be seen in the Figure, when clothing article boxes within a family are sized as a multiple of a baseline size, the clothing article box embodiments stack to efficiently use their limited storage and much more freedom is afforded to order them as desired.

Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention, other equivalent or alternative methods of efficiently organizing clothing articles according to the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art. The invention has been described above by way of illustration, and the specific embodiments disclosed are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed. The invention is thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the following claims. 

1. A clothing article organizer comprising: means for containing an article of clothing; and means for visibly identifying the article from outside the box.
 2. The clothing article organizer of claim 1 further comprising means for stacking said clothing article containers.
 3. A clothing article organizer comprising: means for containing an article of clothing; means for visibly identifying the article from outside the box; and means for stacking said clothing article containers.
 4. A clothing article organizer comprising: a first container for containing an article of clothing; a picture retaining member disposed upon an exposed, visible surface of the first container, said picture retaining member being operable to affix a picture of the clothing article to the first container.
 5. The clothing article organizer of claim 4 further comprising a second container for containing an article of clothing, the second container being substantially same as the first container except its height, width, or length is a multiple of the corresponding height, width, or length of the first container. 